Max Lucado Daily: The Fire That Consumes You
“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10”
What is the fire that consumes you? Write it down: Jesus comes to set you on fire!
He walks as a torch from heart to heart, warming the cold and thawing the chilled and stirring the ashes.
Do you have a passion to sing? Then sing.
Are you stirred to manage? Then manage.
Do you ache for the ill? Then treat them.
Do you hurt for the lost? Then teach them.
The fire of your heart is the light of your path. Disregard it at your own expense! Blow it. Stir it. Nourish it. Cynics will doubt it. Those without it will mock it! Those who know it, those who know Him, will understand it.
To meet the Savior is to be set aflame. To discover the flame is to discover his will. To discover his will is to access a world like none you’ve ever seen.
Proverbs 30
Sayings of Agur
1 The sayings of Agur son of Jakeh—an inspired utterance.
This man’s utterance to Ithiel:
“I am weary, God,
but I can prevail.[a]
2 Surely I am only a brute, not a man;
I do not have human understanding.
3 I have not learned wisdom,
nor have I attained to the knowledge of the Holy One.
4 Who has gone up to heaven and come down?
Whose hands have gathered up the wind?
Who has wrapped up the waters in a cloak?
Who has established all the ends of the earth?
What is his name, and what is the name of his son?
Surely you know!
5 “Every word of God is flawless;
he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.
6 Do not add to his words,
or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar.
7 “Two things I ask of you, LORD;
do not refuse me before I die:
8 Keep falsehood and lies far from me;
give me neither poverty nor riches,
but give me only my daily bread.
9 Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you
and say, ‘Who is the LORD?’
Or I may become poor and steal,
and so dishonor the name of my God.
10 “Do not slander a servant to their master,
or they will curse you, and you will pay for it.
11 “There are those who curse their fathers
and do not bless their mothers;
12 those who are pure in their own eyes
and yet are not cleansed of their filth;
13 those whose eyes are ever so haughty,
whose glances are so disdainful;
14 those whose teeth are swords
and whose jaws are set with knives
to devour the poor from the earth
and the needy from among mankind.
15 “The leech has two daughters.
‘Give! Give!’ they cry.
“There are three things that are never satisfied,
four that never say, ‘Enough!’:
16 the grave, the barren womb,
land, which is never satisfied with water,
and fire, which never says, ‘Enough!’
17 “The eye that mocks a father,
that scorns an aged mother,
will be pecked out by the ravens of the valley,
will be eaten by the vultures.
18 “There are three things that are too amazing for me,
four that I do not understand:
19 the way of an eagle in the sky,
the way of a snake on a rock,
the way of a ship on the high seas,
and the way of a man with a young woman.
20 “This is the way of an adulterous woman:
She eats and wipes her mouth
and says, ‘I’ve done nothing wrong.’
21 “Under three things the earth trembles,
under four it cannot bear up:
22 a servant who becomes king,
a godless fool who gets plenty to eat,
23 a contemptible woman who gets married,
and a servant who displaces her mistress.
24 “Four things on earth are small,
yet they are extremely wise:
25 Ants are creatures of little strength,
yet they store up their food in the summer;
26 hyraxes are creatures of little power,
yet they make their home in the crags;
27 locusts have no king,
yet they advance together in ranks;
28 a lizard can be caught with the hand,
yet it is found in kings’ palaces.
29 “There are three things that are stately in their stride,
four that move with stately bearing:
30 a lion, mighty among beasts,
who retreats before nothing;
31 a strutting rooster, a he-goat,
and a king secure against revolt.[b]
32 “If you play the fool and exalt yourself,
or if you plan evil,
clap your hand over your mouth!
33 For as churning cream produces butter,
and as twisting the nose produces blood,
so stirring up anger produces strife.”
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Read: Hosea 10:9-15
9 The Lord says, “O Israel, ever since Gibeah,
there has been only sin and more sin!
You have made no progress whatsoever.
Was it not right that the wicked men of Gibeah were attacked?
10 Now whenever it fits my plan,
I will attack you, too.
I will call out the armies of the nations
to punish you for your multiplied sins.
11 “Israel[a] is like a trained heifer treading out the grain—
an easy job she loves.
But I will put a heavy yoke on her tender neck.
I will force Judah to pull the plow
and Israel[b] to break up the hard ground.
12 I said, ‘Plant the good seeds of righteousness,
and you will harvest a crop of love.
Plow up the hard ground of your hearts,
for now is the time to seek the Lord,
that he may come
and shower righteousness upon you.’
13 “But you have cultivated wickedness
and harvested a thriving crop of sins.
You have eaten the fruit of lies—
trusting in your military might,
believing that great armies
could make your nation safe.
14 Now the terrors of war
will rise among your people.
All your fortifications will fall,
just as when Shalman destroyed Beth-arbel.
Even mothers and children
were dashed to death there.
15 You will share that fate, Bethel,
because of your great wickedness.
When the day of judgment dawns,
the king of Israel will be completely destroyed.
God’s Unfailing Love
April 19, 2012 — by David C. McCasland
Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap in mercy; . . . for it is time to seek the Lord. —Hosea 10:12
The Old Testament book of Hosea is the story of God’s faithful love for His unfaithful people. In what seems strange to us, the Lord commanded Hosea to marry a woman who would break her marriage vows and bring grief to him (Hosea 1:2-3). After she deserted Hosea for other men, the Lord told him to take her back—a picture of “the love of the Lord for the children of Israel, who look to other gods” (3:1).
Later, Hosea was called upon to tell the Israelites that because of their rebellion against the Lord, they would be carried away into captivity by a foreign power. “Tumult shall arise among your people, and all your fortresses shall be plundered” (10:14).
Yet in the midst of their sin and punishment, the grace of God toward His people was never exhausted. In a grace-filled exhortation, He said: “Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the Lord, till He comes and rains righteousness on you” (10:12).
Even when we have “plowed wickedness” and “reaped iniquity” (10:13), God does not stop loving us. Whatever our situation today, we can turn to the Lord and find forgiveness to make a new start. His love never fails!
The Lord bestows unfailing love,
Forgiving when we fall
And then repent and turn to Him,
Responding to His call. —Sper
No force is greater than the power of God’s love.
The Old Testament book of Hosea is the story of God’s faithful love for His unfaithful people. In what seems strange to us, the Lord commanded Hosea to marry a woman who would break her marriage vows and bring grief to him (Hosea 1:2-3). After she deserted Hosea for other men, the Lord told him to take her back—a picture of “the love of the Lord for the children of Israel, who look to other gods” (3:1).
Later, Hosea was called upon to tell the Israelites that because of their rebellion against the Lord, they would be carried away into captivity by a foreign power. “Tumult shall arise among your people, and all your fortresses shall be plundered” (10:14).
Yet in the midst of their sin and punishment, the grace of God toward His people was never exhausted. In a grace-filled exhortation, He said: “Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the Lord, till He comes and rains righteousness on you” (10:12).
Even when we have “plowed wickedness” and “reaped iniquity” (10:13), God does not stop loving us. Whatever our situation today, we can turn to the Lord and find forgiveness to make a new start. His love never fails!
The Lord bestows unfailing love,
Forgiving when we fall
And then repent and turn to Him,
Responding to His call. —Sper
No force is greater than the power of God’s love.
My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
April 19, 2012
Beware of the Least Likely Temptation
Joab had defected to Adonijah, though he had not defected to Absalom —1 Kings 2:28
Joab withstood the greatest test of his life, remaining absolutely loyal to David by not turning to follow after the fascinating and ambitious Absalom. Yet toward the end of his life he turned to follow after the weak and cowardly Adonijah. Always remain alert to the fact that where one person has turned back is exactly where anyone may be tempted to turn back (see 1 Corinthians 10:11-13). You may have just victoriously gone through a great crisis, but now be alert about the things that may appear to be the least likely to tempt you. Beware of thinking that the areas of your life where you have experienced victory in the past are now the least likely to cause you to stumble and fall.
We are apt to say, “It is not at all likely that having been through the greatest crisis of my life I would now turn back to the things of the world.” Do not try to predict where the temptation will come; it is the least likely thing that is the real danger. It is in the aftermath of a great spiritual event that the least likely things begin to have an effect. They may not be forceful and dominant, but they are there. And if you are not careful to be forewarned, they will trip you. You have remained true to God under great and intense trials— now beware of the undercurrent. Do not be abnormally examining your inner self, looking forward with dread, but stay alert; keep your memory sharp before God. Unguarded strength is actually a double weakness, because that is where the least likely temptations will be effective in sapping strength. The Bible characters stumbled over their strong points, never their weak ones.
“. . . kept by the power of God . . .”— that is the only safety. (1 Peter 1:5).
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Leave Your Garbage at the Door - #6594
Thursday, April 19, 2012
The passenger across the aisle from me wasn't very happy. He was complaining to his seat mate on the plane about everything and complaining with a lot of profanity inserted, oh I'd say maybe like every third word. The man next to him was mostly listening as this shall we say colorfully spoken speaker cussed out his favorite baseball team, then the service on the plane and the clients he was working with.
In fact, I thought he might be religious from the number of times he mentioned the Lord, but well it wasn't really in the right context. He stopped to ask - more like demand I guess - a coffee refill from the flight attendant. And then as the attendant left, he said to his fellow passenger, "By the way, what do you do?" He was going to finally give him a chance to speak. What do you know? And his fellow passenger said, "Oh, I'm a minister."
Well, the expression on that man's face was a priceless combination of surprise and embarrassment, but he bounced back pretty quickly. The flight attendant returned right at that moment with his coffee, and this man said with an angelic smile, "God bless you!" Well, it was pretty put on, but it illustrated how quickly we change when we think we're in holy company.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Leave Your Garbage at the Door."
Our word for today from the Word of God, well, it gives us familiar words from Matthew 6:9, reading out of the NIV. "This then is how you should pray, 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your Name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors.'"
Now, you notice here that Jesus, in teaching us to pray, says that the point of entry into prayer is to say to God, "hallowed is Your Name." Hallowed is not an everyday idea to us; probably you've not heard anybody talk about hallowed things today. I looked it up in the Greek language that the Bible was written in, and the word hallowed is "hagiaso" in the Greek. It's used for objects that were reserved for sacred purposes in the Bible. For example, let's say there was a lamp that they designated just to be used in the temple, just for sacred ceremonies, only for holy purposes. That was hagiaso.
Whatever is hagiasoed (is that a word?) is elevated; it's treated with reverence. It's treated as if it's highly special. So, basically, we're supposed to begin praying by recognizing the specialness of God like this, "Father, there's no one in your category. There's no one like you, and I really am in the presence of absolute purity." Prayer begins by recognizing who you're talking to, not what you're asking for. And people clean up their act just because there's a minister around, like the guy on the plane.
Well, what about when you're in God's presence? You can't realize who God is without cleaning up your act. The first order of business is to go back over the last 24 hours in your prayer and expose those places where you've disappointed God; where you've disobeyed Him and confess it. Express your sadness over that sin.
All through the Bible we see this. In Nehemiah 1, his great prayer, he says, "Oh, great and awesome God, I confess our sins." Daniel 9 - another great prayer - he says, "Oh, great and awesome God, we have sinned." This prayer says, "hallowed be Your Name." And then very shortly after that it says, "Forgive us."
Maybe your prayers have become a little flat and powerless. Maybe there's a request without repentance, and there's praise without purity. See, we need to be saying to God, "Father, I know I'm in holy company. I can't be around You with this garbage."
click to listenYou have an open invitation to God's Throne Room to call the King, your Father. But before you rush to petition the King, please leave your garbage at the door.
